"Here you are, after all!"
Ruboo was startled at first, then delighted.
At last, he'd found the real deal.
"Madison!"
"Got it!"
Knowing exactly what Ruboo intended, Madison swiftly recalled the incantation for the exorcism spell, ready to cast it the moment the target appeared.
"Gah... give... me... back... my golden arm..."
The howl of the evil spirit Heather grew ever closer.
Heavy footsteps now echoed right beside their ears.
Ruboo was just about to pinpoint the direction of the footsteps.
Suddenly!
The floorboards beneath them shattered with a crackling sound.
Ruboo's pupils contracted. Without a moment to speak, he reacted with unprecedented speed, scooping Madison into his arms and lunging forward.
The next second!
Crack!
Accompanied by a piercing edge, a massive gash was cleaved through the floor where they had stood.
Had they remained there, their feet would likely have been severed.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Within mere moments, the fissure in the floor widened dramatically.
Soon, the female corpse, all too familiar to Ruboo and his companion, crawled up from beneath the floorboards.
Unlike before, the corpse named Heather now clutched a long-handled axe, its blade dripping with blood, in her single arm.
"Give... me back... my golden arm!!!"
Heather's blood-stained eyes fixed intently on Ruboo—or rather, on the golden arm inside his backpack.
Heavy footsteps echoed once more.
Hester, axe raised, charged at Ruboo with terrifying ferocity.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Ruboo fired his gun.
Though bullets could not destroy Heather, they could still halt her advance.
Clink, clink, clink...
Golden-yellow casings clattered to the ground.
Heather, who had been charging towards Ruboo, was unharmed but forced to stumble backwards under the recoil of the bullets.
Seizing the moment, Madison—who had long coordinated with Ruboo—spread her arms wide and swiftly chanted an exorcism spell directed at Heather.
Imperceptible to ordinary eyes, with each incantation, the spiritual radiance within Madison pulsed intensely.
Correspondingly, Heather—who moments before seemed utterly indestructible—shuddered violently. As if an invisible hand were dragging it into the unknown depths of darkness, a roar filled with terror and rage erupted from its maw.
Heather struggled desperately.
Madison, too, bore the immense pressure of the backlash. The further she progressed with the incantation, the more arduous it became.
In that moment, the entire room became a whirlwind of chaos.
The shrill screech of malevolent spirits, the mystical incantations of witchcraft, the heavy layering of phantoms, and the relentless, invisible shockwaves.
All combined together.
Fortunately, Ruboo had awakened his spiritual awareness; otherwise, he would have fainted at the sight of this bizarre spectacle.
Scanning the scene, he even found the strength to grab a paint-chipped baseball bat from the room. Suppressing his discomfort, he swiftly charged towards Heather, who was clutching her head and screaming, raising the bat to strike her viciously.
Heather's entire focus was consumed by resisting the exorcism spell, leaving her utterly helpless against Ruboo's brazen assault.
Initially, it seemed manageable. Though Ruboo's blows sent chunks of rotten flesh flying, they caused little real harm.
However, Ruboo soon changed tactics, unleashing a barrage of blows to its legs.
Snap!
Heather's knee gave a sickening snap under the strain.
Staggering from the full force of the exorcism spell, she collapsed uncontrollably to her knees.
This undeniably disrupted the balance of their struggle.
As Madison's voice grew louder with the exorcism chant and Heather's condition worsened on the ground, Ruboo prepared to intensify its assault.
Suddenly, a piercing shriek erupted from Heather's throat.
In a desperate last stand, it unleashed all its strength. Its intact left arm whipped out, the long axe in its grasp streaking past Ruboo like an arrow, hurtling towards Madison with blinding speed.
A piercing sonic boom echoed.
Seeing the razor-sharp axe hurtling towards her, Madison, mid-incantation, froze in shock.
Fully aware that a direct hit would cleave her clean in two, she halted the incantation abruptly. At the last moment, a sudden surge of willpower caused the axe to narrowly miss her, whizzing past with terrifying precision.
Cold sweat trickled down Madison's face as she shuddered in relief. Then, like a raging torrent, the deafening roar erupted once more.
No longer bound by the exorcism spell, Heather's left hand shot up, gripping the baseball bat as it swung towards her once more.
Ruboo strained with both hands to shake her off, only to discover her strength far exceeded his expectations.
Even in daylight, Heather's true form proved considerably stronger than her cursed state had suggested.
Seeing the bat about to be wrestled from him, Ruboo suddenly released his grip mid-struggle.
Heather instinctively stumbled backwards.
Seizing the opening, Ruboo drew his gun once more, unleashing a hail of bullets that forced Heather to retreat further.
"Madison..."
He began to speak, but a sharp whistling sound cut him off.
Heather resorted to her old trick, hurling the baseball bat at him.
With no other choice, Ruboo rolled sideways to dodge it.
No longer hindered, Heather paid Ruboo no further heed.
For the first time, it temporarily set aside its obsession with the Golden Arm, shifting its focus instead to Madison.
In this woman, it sensed a power that truly threatened it. She must be eliminated swiftly.
Thud... thud... thud...
The earlier blow to her knee had not impeded Heather's movement. With astonishing speed, it charged madly towards Madison.
By now, Madison had no time to recite the incantation word for word.
Her heart pounding, she thrust her palm forward violently, unleashing a colossal surge of intent that erupted like a tornado.
With a sharp whoosh, Heather was sent flying backwards, landing precisely in the cleft previously split open by the axe.
With a heavy thud, Heather fell through the opening and did not climb back out.
The first floor fell silent once more.
Panting heavily, Madison kept a wary eye on the surrounding floorboards, fearing a rotting hand might emerge from somewhere.
"Careful, Madison, it's likely targeting you first," Ruboo warned urgently as he scrambled to his feet. "Quickly, stand on the sofa. It'll give you some cushioning later."
Madison complied, lifting her foot just as a dark, decaying hand reached up from beneath her, its sharp fingers clamping down on her ankle.
Then...
CRASH!
Madison let out a shriek before plummeting downwards, vanishing from sight in an instant.
"Bloody hell!"
Ruboo rushed over in panic, just as he was about to peer into the chasm below.
Suddenly!
A towering wall of flames erupted from beneath the floorboards.
Ruboo, narrowly avoiding being scorched, felt relief rather than alarm.
Once the flames subsided, he hastily reached down and shouted, "Madison!"
A slender hand clasped his tightly.
Ruboo gave a sharp tug upwards.
Though outwardly dishevelled, Madison was otherwise unharmed as he hauled her up.